Mammoth Job in California

Featured as a cover story in the October '03 issue of Plumbing & Mechanical

Think you've got it tough in the winter? At Mammoth Mountain ski resort in central California, they get an average of 32 feet of snow each year with temperatures as low as minus 20°F not including the wind chill factor.

Naturally, they like snow. It keeps them in business. But the business of clearing that snow from common areas at the resort became a chore too burdensome for resort owners. They turned to Xcel Mechanical, Gardena, CA, and Watts Radiant. It was a Mammoth undertaking.

The vast, 3,500-acre resort includes a growing community of gondola lift stations to the resort's 150+ ski runs, restaurants, activity centers and walkways where the white stuff must cleared routinely.

"Whether it's under brick pavers, concrete slabs, broad stairways, or in elevated walkways between buildings, we turn to Onix EPDM tubing as the radiant product of choice for melting snow," said Kevin Michel, president of Xcel Mechanical. So far, there's more than 100,000 square feet of snowmelted surface throughout the resort. But the job's not done. Next year, they're eyeing an ambitious expansion. Of course, the Onix production lines are eager to fill the order.